Evangelion: Inochi no Ki
by LegendaryS
Summary: A collaborative fiction between myself and Eric Blair, based on Evangelion and its spin-off manga Gakuen Datenroku. Angels take on human forms and the Evangelions are personal weapons, so Shinji and his friends fight a much harder battle.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Let me tell you a story…"

Those were the words I had used, and you were too young to understand the difference between fantasy and reality back then, and all I could do was give you a small, warm smile, hoping it was reassuring enough for you to go to sleep while I told you magical stories about angels and demons.

"A long time ago, there existed a tree. This tree was the tallest, most beautiful tree the world had ever seen; it was big and wide, encompassing the eyesight of everyone fortunate enough to lay eyes on the tree."

"Really?" Shinji looked up at Yui's smiling face, who looked down at his face, giving him one of her trademarked warm smiles as she eased back the young boy's bangs, the simple, gentle move making the small, quiet boy slowly begin to slip into the embrace of sleep.

"Really… the tree was guarded by the most beautiful woman any man would have ever seen; with hair the color of flames and skin as white as the clouds; those who would stare at her would always remark how beautiful her face and eyes and smile were."

Shinji sighed as he closed his eyes, letting the warmth of his mom's words caress his cheeks along with her breath as Yui's voice became softer and softer, lulling the little boy into deep slumber, the only sound escaping from him were the small, soft snores as he snuggled deeper into his bed while Yui kept stroking his hair, staring at him with the smile only a mother could have for her first born child; a smile full of hope and warmth and love.

"Did the pretty lady have a lot of boyfriends?"

Kyoko made a pause while combing Asuka's hair, staring at the little girl staring back at her from the mirror with bright, blue inquisitive eyes and an impish, toothy smile, before she let out a sigh as she kept brushing the still wet hair, tying it into twin ponytails.

"And just how did you hear about boyfriends?"

"A girl at school; Kaname… she likes this boy and shares her lunch with him, so they're boyfriends." Asuka said as she shrugged, kicking her legs into the air and Kyoko recognized her daughter was just about to get antsy, and start wiggling in her seat.

"So?"

"So?" Kyoko repeated as she pulled Asuka down and helped her to her bed where the little redhead immediately snuggled into her bed, hugging the plush monkey doll before she looked up at her mother.

"So what else happened?"

"I'll tell you if you go to sleep." Kyoko answered with a smile as Asuka giggled and kept perfectly still, closing her eyes, while Kyoko sat on her daughter's bed, tracing her face slowly, as the redhead giggled and kept her eyes closed.

"The original guardians of Freya were called 'angels'; and they were divine in origin." Kyoko said softly, slowly, almost sadly."They had promised their allegiance to Freya, to defend her against the evils of the world. Some angels, however were tainted when Freya was struck, and became willing agents of the darkness that tainted and corrupted them…"

"So they became bad, mama?" Asuka whispered softly while Kyoko kept smiling, loosing herself in the old tale of knights and princesses, knowing each word by heart.

"No sweetie… now go to sleep." Kyoko said as she leaned forth and kissed Asuka's forehead, getting up and turning the light off, before she walked out to the veranda, and smelled the fresh, crisp air, shuddering as she felt the air growing a little colder, before the sound of a door sliding open and she turned around to greet her neighbor.

"Winter will come early this year, it seems." Yui said with her usual pleasant smile, while carrying two mugs of coffee, and offering one to Kyoko who took it and smiled, thanking her in silence.

"Yeah." Kyoko said in a soft tone, staring along with Yui out the night sky into the horizon, both women feeling the air play with their hair, and enjoying the artificial warmness the coffee gave them, sighing softly because she knew.

"Shinji and Asuka have been swapping stories." Yui spoke in a neutral tone of voice, making it clear she wasn't angry but rather amused. "Shinji came home asking me to tell him a story about the beautiful lady from the tree."

"Yes, Asuka seems to think I'm talking about myself." Kyoko said smiling as she ran her fingers through her short hair, not as short as Yui's page-boy cut, but shorter that how she used to have it.

"Well, Shinji might start asking me about who the lady with the hair as fire is soon." Yui chuckled as she took another drink of her cup, humming softly to herself before she turned to Kyoko.

"How does the end of the story of Freya, the first tree of life ends?"

"Well…" Kyoko dawdled as she sat on the small table adjacent to where Yui stood. "Angels don't need faith as they already have the knowledge of celestial things, so their rebellion against God, and Freya constituted an unforgivable sin."

Yui nodded as she looked out the sky and into the bright white stars. "And now, they need the cores that reside within Lilith to become whole again, so that they can ascend to heaven."

Kyoko nodded slowly, before she spoke again in a small, soft tone of voice.

"We are the caretakers of the tree, chosen by birthright to look after Lilith, and defend her against all who will try to strike her… but we are not their guardians; we need willing swords and shields for the battle that is to come."

Yui nodded as she finished her coffee, looking out at Kyoko who smiled at her, both women knowing full well what it all mean, how it all affected the world, and how it will affect them in the future before they walked to their respective homes, and into the open arms of their respective husbands.

Yui shook her head, making herself step forth from memory lane, and into the new day that signaled the start of the new school year, effortlessly coming back from that time and place when her son was 5 years old, into the day that she had feared would come but all the chestnut-haired woman could do was let time flow like a river, running its course, as Asuka poked her head and smiled at Yui as she always did whenever she came to wake up her son, watching as the redhead bounded quickly towards Shinji's door before her steps became a soft padding before the redhead opened the door and disappeared inside, making her way quietly to Shinji's side, taking in the peacefulness in his face as he snored lightly, blissfully unaware.

"Shinji~"

Shinji mumbled and shrugged into his bed, while Asuka tiptoed silently into his room, smiling at his sleeping face before she leaned forth, a wide smile planted on her lips.

"WAKE UP DUMMY!"

Yui smiled into her coffee like she always did in the morning, hearing the snap-crackle and pop routine between her son and Kyoko's daughter, so familiar and used after hearing it happening for more than 8 years, before she saw Asuka exit Shinji's room with him in tow, grumbling and stopping to straighten his collar while Yui held a piece of toast for her son while he was simultaneously pulled and pushed outside by the eager redhead, making Yui sigh wistfully before she stood at the front door, seeing as both teens entered the elevator and made their usual trek down to the ground floor, before they began walking towards their school.

"They're gone." Kyoko said as she came out of her own apartment, impeccably dressed in her skirt and blouse, white lab coat draped over her arm while Yui nodded.

"Let me tell you a story…" Yui said softly, remembering other times, far away, when Shinji would look at her with bright, wide eyes, hanging onto her every word at night while Yui would lull him to sleep. "Those were the words I had used, and they were too young to understand the difference between fantasy and reality back then."

Kyoko nodded.

"All we can do is give them a small, warm smile, hoping it's reassuring enough for when they to go to sleep while we fight our war, masking it as magical stories about angels and demons."


	2. The Transfer Student

Chapter One: The Transfer Student

"Shinji~" Asuka said sweetly, tiptoeing into his room.

The room itself wasn't very large, and it had become even smaller once all of the shelves and desks had been added in, covered in Shinji's favorite light novels and comics. There was hardly enough room for Shinji and Asuka to both be standing in the room. Asuka looked around the room once, even though she knew exactly what it looked like. The little Pen-Pen alarm clock was going off (not that Shinji bothered getting up), and Shinji himself was hiding under as many covers as he could stand in the fine April weather.

"WAKE UP, DUMMY!" she shouted, not caring too much that the Ikari's would hear her.

Shinji started awake immediately, staring up at Asuka, his dark blue eyes wide in fright. She smiled innocently, daring Shinji to suggest that a cute thirteen year old girl like her could even possibly make that much noise. He decided against it, and tried to smooth down his brown hair instead.

"Come on…" Asuka said. "It's the first day of school! We can't afford to be late! Get up already!" Her light blue eyes were twinkling with excitement. She reached down at Shinji's blankets and pulled it away quickly. She gasped as his tented pants came into view. "You… you! I didn't mean to get that up!" she shrieked. "Pervert! Idiot!"

"I can't help it!" Shinji protested. "It's just because I have to go to the bathroom!"

Asuka continued ranting while Shinji hurried off to the bathroom to get ready for the day. When he emerged, Asuka was practically pushing him out the door. Neither of the Ikari's paid much attention to her boisterous actions, instead choosing to wave them off.

Asuka paused at the front door. "Idiot," she said. "Your collar is all crooked. It's our second year in middle school; you'd think you could learn to get this stuff right." She straightened it easily. She'd done it so many times before anyways. Shinji at least had the decency to blush. "There. Let's go."

She grabbed him by the wrist and the two of them began running down the street towards the school. They sprinted down the streets, which were practically filled with people. Asuka, however, had a shortcut through a wealthy residential section, whose streets were mostly empty.

As they turned a corner back onto the main streets, Shinji collided head on with another rushing pedestrian. Asuka sighed, and exchanged a resigned glance with the companion of the girl who had just collided with Shinji. The two teens on the ground groaned, clutching their heads.

The girl, one of Shinji's classmates, Rei Ayanami, was splayed out on the ground, her school uniform spread out. She didn't seem to notice Shinji's staring at the small amount of underwear visible until her twin sister cleared her throat. She moved her pale hands from her blue hair and stood up quietly.

Asuka and Rei's sister, Kei, glared at Shinji, who flushed and rose himself.

"Gee, Ayanami-san… What's the rush?" Shinji asked.

Kei giggled. "My sister and I are late so frequently we thought we should hurry up today so we wouldn't get in trouble on the first day of school."

"Then we should go!" Asuka said, pushing Shinji forward. "I don't wanna get in trouble!" As she began running forward with him, she whispered, "Pervert," angrily, but said little else. It was wearying enough running so far.

Finally, the four teenagers arrived at school. The middle school building was quite familiar to them all, and while they had a new classroom, everyone was sitting more or less where they had been last year. The four split up, with the Ayanami siblings going to their typical window seats, Asuka heading to the front of the room to talk to her best friend, Hikari Horaki, and Shinji ambling to the back of the room where his friends were sitting.

"Yo, Shinji!"

"Hey."

Shinji's two best friends, Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida waved happily. "Hey, guys," Shinji said. "How's it going?"

Toji beamed happily. "I'm great! Guess who our teacher is! Guess!"

Shinji considered for a moment. The teacher would have to be someone who didn't care that Toji wore sweats all the time, and someone who wouldn't mind Kensuke and Toji goofing off half the class. It would have to be—

Someone who would drive into the school parking late five minutes before class, tires screeching against the asphalt. Someone named Misato Katsuragi! The male population crowded against the windows, staring down at the most popular teacher in the school, cheering and hooting.

Misato looked up at the boys, removed her sunglasses, and waved. Everything about her was gorgeous, from her purplish hair to the way that she made even the conservative black dress she wore seem to accentuate every curve. The boys cheered her again.

A few minutes later, she'd made her way into the classroom and was addressing everyone. The boys were paying close attention, much to the girls' annoyance.

"So, this is my third year teaching, but I'm sure we're all gonna have a great time!" she said. "But before we can begin any lessons, there is someone I'm going to have to introduce! Will, uh, Nagisa Kaworu please come forward?"

A pale boy stood up. Everyone turned.

Huh. Asuka thought. I didn't notice him.

The boy walked slowly to the front of the room and turned around to face the class. He wasn't just pale. Nothing about him reflected a healthy color, from his grayish hair to his red eyes. And yet, at the same time, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him, either. Maybe because of his smile, surprisingly genuine.

"Hello, everyone," he began. "I am Nagisa Kaworu. It is…" Here he paused, although no one was quite sure why. "…nice... to meet you all."

"Yes," Misato said happily. "It's great to meet you too!" As Kaworu went back to his seat, Misato rose up and approached the chalkboard. She immediately jumped into a lecture. No male in the class paid any attention to what she said. The girls glared at the boys. Misato was oblivious to both.

At lunch, Asuka dropped the customary bento off at Shinji's desk and then went back to her best friend. "Congratulations, Hikari-chan!" she said. "Why didn't you tell me you were the Class Rep before class started?"

Hikari flushed pink. "Oh…" she said. "I… I didn't want to brag."

Asuka giggled. "You don't have to worry about bragging around me, I'm your best friend! Besides, it's not like I'd be jealous or anything! I don't wanna be a Class Rep, it sounds boring…"

Hikari chuckled. "Well, there will be a lot of new stuff to worry about, I guess."

"Just another reason to have nothing to do with it," Asuka explained. "Since I now have a chance to take college classes, I don't want to spend a lot of time doing extra work here."

"You're taking college classes?" Hikari exclaimed, shocked.

"Yep. I just didn't feel challenged by the stuff here."

Toji glared over at Asuka, and then whispered to Shinji and Kensuke, "So, she thinks she's too good to go here."

Shinji sighed. "Toji, can't you at least try to get along with Asuka?"

"Her? But she's so annoying!" Toji protested. Kensuke nodded in agreement. "Besides, we all know you're only buddy-buddy with her to see up that skirt!" Toji added, vehemently.

Shinji's eyes widened. "No!" he protested. "Our parents have been friends for years, you know that! And besides, you're the one with a crush on the Class Rep!"

Toji glowered, but said nothing, for the transfer student approached. "Hello," he said. "I have finished my lunch. May I converse with you?"

"Er…" The three friends exchanged uncertain glances. Finally, Kensuke gave an answer. "Sure, I guess."

"Thank you." Nagisa said, sitting next to them. "I am glad to have a chance to be making friends." He didn't seem to notice the second confused glance the boys exchanged. They all found him too confusing.

"I believe I recognize you," Nagisa said a few moments of awkward silence later. "You are an Ikari?"

"Er… yeah… You know me?"

"I've met your parents," he said.

No one could think of anything to say to that, so instead they spent lunch in silence. After school, the three friends went to a park to play basketball like they'd done every day after school, but Asuka didn't take her usual route to Hikari's house to hang out. She went to the subway and got on a northbound train.

The first thing she saw leaving the underground was the campus of Tokyo-3. She widened her eyes. I hadn't expected this. Everyone is so old... She'd expected age, of course (she wasn't an idiot), but the reality of it all… A group of jocks harassed each other, two girls had a conversation while walking to class, and all around her people went to and fro, pausing only to stare a moment as they realized a thirteen year old was in their midst.

She gulped and set off to her afternoon class. This wouldn't be so bad… She hoped.

The class passed by relatively quickly, although everyone stared a bit. One man stared more than anyone else, and as soon as class ended, Asuka hurriedly set off, determined not to be near such a creep. She went straight home.

Well… almost straight home. Before going there, she stopped at Shinji's apartment. She inhaled deeply as she entered; the smell of spices and sizzling meat permeated the room.

"No parents here, either?" she asked.

"No," Shinji said. "They said something urgent with their translation project came up…"

"Oh…" Asuka looked down. If Shinji's parents weren't there, hers certainly wouldn't be waiting for her at home. "C… can I eat dinner here?"

Shinji nodded to the boiling pot of noodles. Enough for two.

All in all, not a bad first day of school.


	3. The First Move

Chapter Two: The First Move

Dinner had been somewhat of a nice change of pace; Asuka and Shinji had quickly worked out the routine, as this hadn't been the first time for either of them to be left to their own devices now that they were older; while Asuka's and Shinji's fathers were nice and caring, there existed a sense of detachment from both men; Gendo Ikari was imposing at sight; hard stoic face, short dark hair and a beard that seemed to draw out a well defined chin framed by an impossibly tall man with broad shoulders and hard eyes that were always hidden behind glasses seemed to scream 'Irrelevant' silently whenever something menial and superfluous was around him.

Christian Langley wasn't all that different, yet he wasn't all the same; where Gendo was stoic, and reserved, Christian seemed to be the epitome of an Aryan man: tall and with blond hair sternly eased back, showing off a widow's peak, Langley's whole body and face seemed to have been at a time carved from a slab of Tennessee marble; perfect pink and expertly polished that gave the man an imposing feeling, topped with a frown on his eyes and with his mouth set in a stern line, both of which seemed to be forever etched in his face.

But in the comfort of their respective households, the stern faces and masks gave way to fathers that were loving and worried about their children, even if sometimes Asuka felt Gendo babied Shinji too much, and if Shinji couldn't help but wonder if Langley could be less enthusiastic about Asuka's accomplishments.

But all in all, the day started again without a hitch, almost like a rewinding of the day before; Asuka coming in to wake Shinji up, and both leaving their houses while Yui waited for Shinji at the door with a yogurt shake and Gendo stayed at the desk browsing his newspaper, before the two teens exited quickly on their way to school.

"So, how were the college classes?" Shinji asked out of the blue, staring at Asuka who simply shrugged.

"It was different; the university grounds were filled with people who kept staring at me like I was some kind of freak; guess they've never seen a 13 year old before." Asuka said quickly, expertly hiding how she had felt out of place in there, even if she had taken the time to change out of her uniform and used less childish clothes than sundresses and sandals.

"There was this guy who kept staring at me." The redhead said softly, turning towards Shinji. "He was older, wore a ponytail… offered to help me with some of the classes."

That made Shinji stop, before he turned to her, giving the redhead a serious look.

"Did he talk to you o-or so–"

"Take it easy dummy." Asuka said simply. "He was probably weirded out there was a kid in his class."

"Oh."

"But he seemed nice." Asuka said softly to herself, unable to hide a blush on her cheeks which made Shinji frown before looking away, walking in an uncomfortable silence next to Asuka before she turned to look at him, sighing.

"So your dad mentioned something about a new neighbor?" Asuka said after a beat, noticing Shinji's previous smile had all but died, trying once again to spark a conversation.

"Oh yeah, turns out Dad wasn't out when you came by to have dinner, he was helping her get settled in along with Mom." Shinji said softly, before he shrugged. "But it was nice having dinner with you like that."

That made Asuka turn to Shinji, giving him a small smile.

"Yeah it was… I uh… I actually wanted to tell you something Shinji." Asuka said before Shinji turned to her, giving her a questioning glance.

"What is it?"

"I uh… I brought the lunchboxes today, maybe we can eat together and talk at lunch time?"

There was a certain tone in Asuka's voice, hopeful, guarded but optimistic, and Shinji opened his mouth, almost as if he were going to say something before he closed it and decided not to, as they both entered the school grounds, walking into their room classroom, before Misato breezed in.

Lunch time came by quickly for them; Misato had been going on between Math, which resulted in a collective groan from the whole class and a glare and eyebrow twitch from Hikari Horaki, their newly assigned class representative, to History which wasn't Shinji's favorite subject, to Literature, which in itself was a chore for Asuka to Biology, which seemed to elicit mixed reaction from the Ayanami twins, before the school bell rang to everyone's delight.

"Alright… it's lunchtime, those of you who will eat outside, exit the room in an orderly fashion." Misato said as she smiled at everyone and exited herself to go to the teacher's lounge, before Shinji turned around quickly to Asuka, smiling, ignoring Rei who had stood up from her place with Kei and had walked towards where Shinji and Asuka were chatting with each other.

"What are you smiling about?" Asuka said keeping a straight face which was hard with Shinji's overanxious but bashful look on his face while Rei was reaching out to him with a tentative hand, before turning around and going back to her seat, making Asuka frown and shrug internally before Shinji spoke again.

"It's your turn today; you said you brought lunch, didn't you?" Shinji said smiling, making Asuka giggle more at Shinji's insistence than at his question; there was a certain boyish charm in the way Shinji asked for things, like a small child begging you for a cookie or a sweet that made it hard for her to keep up the façade of being stern.

"Yeah, I did… mom's very secret German style lunchbox." The redhead said winking before she realized something was missing.

"Shoot, I need to go get something to drink." She said as she got up, exiting the room, leaving Shinji alone.

The boy sighed to himself and looked out the room, seeing Toji and Hikari eating together; Toji's happy face was clearly an indication that Hikari had managed to combine the two things the boy liked; food and herself.

"I'm glad you like it, but can't you eat more gracefully?" Hikari told the taller boy, chiding him gently as Toji seemed to shovel as much food as he could into his mouth.

"It's my way of showing thanks for having such a great meal!" Toji answered in between mouthfuls and with a big dopey smile that made Hikari's heart skip a beat as she looked quickly away, blushing before she answered.

"Th-thank you."

"Shinji?"

"Oh, hi Ayanami." Shinji's idle thoughts were interrupted by two blue-haired twins standing in front of him; Kei, smiling down with that perpetual smile she always seemed to have and Rei looking strangely flustered and subdued, behind her sister, fidgeting with the hem of her uniform skirt. "Uh… could I help you?"

"My sister is having a hard time saying it but… She likes you." Kei chirped as she pushed Rei towards Shinji while the blue-haired girl shook her head and Shinji gasped in surprise, looking from the girl walking away to the one clutching onto him, before Rei spoke in a barely there whisper.

"Could we talk alone?"

Shinji nodded and walked out following Rei while looking back at the lunch box that lay on top of his desk, before Rei walked towards the steps in silence, opening the door to the roof and walking out just as Asuka walked back, missing them by a few minutes, noticing Shinji was nowhere to be found while holding a pair of juice cans on her arms.

"Hey Shin–" the redhead paused as she looked to her sides before turning to Hikari and Toji, noticing how her best friend looked at her with an unreadable expression while Toji snickered. "Where did he go?"

"Maybe he's off somewhere else."

Asuka huffed and was about to ask something before something caught her sight; noticing Kei was staring out to one of the doors, making her turn and follow her line of sight before she saw Shinji and Rei.

Before she noticed how close they were standing, how Shinji seemed flustered and smiling that small, shy smile of his.

Before she saw Rei lean in, taking a hold of Shinji's hands on hers, before they both walked in and Shinji smiled at Asuka, walking straight towards her, never noticing as Asuka stared back at him from her place on the other door of the room, a look of disbelief and anger on her face before a frown crossed her face.

"Oh, right! The lunch you made!" Shinji said oblivious to the redhead's surpise, hurt look on her face, giving Asuka the same smile he had sported before with Rei, the same shy, faint smile that right now, made Asuka give Shinji a look of disbelief, while the boy happily held out his hand to the redhead. "You're the best, Asuka!"

Asuka looked at Shinji with a mixture of surpise, mild amusement and annoyance, before she slammed the lunch in the boy's midsection, while Toji snickered, watching this, and the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

The rest of the school day happened by quickly and tediously, but Shinji noticed that every time he tried to talk with Asuka over the messenger service, she would either answer in a quick one line response, or ignore him altogether, making Shinji frown, but being otherwise unable to ask the volatile redhead what was going on, growing more and more anxious, tense and uneasy as he watched the clock tick away before Misato began to wrap up her class.

"Ok, so… if there aren't any other questions…" The mauve-haired teacher began as the first tones of the bell began to waft slowly in the air. "Everyone stand… bow… dismissed."

No sooner had Misato said those words that she fled the room while Hikari began to call on the people who had been assigned with cleanup duty, while Asuka began to put away her books inside her school bag and Shinji walked over to her.

"Hey Asuka, ready to go home?"

"I have to go to my other classes." Asuka said sharply.

"Oh, uhm… w-well I could walk you to the train station, we both need to take the same trains anyway, no?"

"Don't bother, I can do it on my own." Asuka said before she grabbed her leather carrier, fling it over her shoulder and walking towards the door, brushing past Shinji and everyone else. "You should spend more time with your girlfriend."

"Wh-what? What are you saying?" Shinji asked hurriedly walking behind Asuka as she began to make her way outside, followed closely by Rei and Kei.

"Just leave me alone you idiot!" Asuka screamed, finally incensed and turning to Shinji, glaring at him and beyond him, making Rei return the glare with a blank stare while Kei seemed to cower behind her sister. "All of you leave me alone!"

As Asuka marched away, leaving behind a confused Shinji, Rei took the opportunity to walk towards the boy, touching his back, making Shinji turn around.

"Would it be a problem if we go to the park to talk?" Rei asked in her quiet voice, making Shinji turn from her to Asuka, noticing how the redhead kept walking away, slowly growing farther down the distance. Opening and closing his mouth several times before he finally turned to Rei, nodding.

"Alright, le–"

"Ah! Shinji! You're still here! Good!"

Both Shinji and Rei turned to look at Misato who was walking quickly towards where they both were.

"I need you to come with me for a moment; I… have something I need to tell you."

Shinji frowned before he looked at Rei apologetically, and gave Asuka's retreating figure one last frown, before he turned to Misato and nodded.

"Sure, let's go."


	4. An Afternoon of Rei

Chapter Three: An Afternoon Interval in the Life of Ayanami Rei

Rei sat down on a bench near the basketball court and pulled a book out of her bag. She carefully opened the book to where she d left off (she had no need for bookmarks, she remembered page numbers perfectly), and began reading. She wasn t especially interested in the book today, but she needed something to keep her busy until Shinji-kun and his friends arrived.

Surprisingly, they did not. She checked her watch sometime later. Half an hour had passed. Rei frowned to herself. Katsuragi had said a moment , hadn t she? Rei sighed and stood up.

Every day the boys came here to play, she was sure of that. She also knew (quite certainly) that they only didn t go when Shinji or Toji was ill or otherwise engaged. Since Toji hadn t mentioned anything to Shinji that day

What on Earth could be keeping Shinji so long? She d come to watch him and everything.

She rose angrily, stuffing her book into her bag, and marched away, disappointed. Still, she reminded herself, today was Thursday, and only the second day of the school year. Shinji would play basketball again, and she could cheer him on then.

Kei did not see it that way, however. How could you give up so quickly? she asked when Rei related the story to her.

Half an hour is quick? Rei did not understand her sister sometimes. Most times, really.

Kei sighed. Okay, she admitted, So maybe you did wait awhile, but why didn t you just follow Toji? You could have known for sure that way! Kei always managed to be enthusiastic about these things. No matter what emotion Rei s twin had, she had it twice as much as would be expected. Happiness, sadness, anger (very rarely, but on occasion). Rei sometimes wondered if, somehow, Kei had not just her own emotions, but Rei s as well.

I did not think it would be necessary, Rei admitted. She sat down at the dining room table carefully. I see our parents still aren t around, she remarked.

Kei shrugged her shoulders. Haven t seen em, she admitted. I expect there s some big research project or something going on. They re always busy this time of year anyways.

They re busy no matter the time of year, Rei corrected.

Yeah, fine, Kei responded. So they re busy all the time. What s the big deal?

Rei had no response. She couldn t say exactly what it was that bothered her about her parents constant absence, but there was something about it. Something that didn t make her feel very comfortable. Unlike the parents of Shinji and Asuka, hers were quite distant. She rarely saw them, even during holidays.

Kei didn t seem to be bothered. She cooked, she made Rei clean, they somehow kept the apartment intact from day to day. With no reason to spend much time there, neither of them really stayed there either. Kei found dozens of activities to dive into; Rei hid herself in her books. In fact, they barely saw each other, they were so out of contact.

So Kei was hardly surprised when Rei stood up and announced I m leaving for awhile. She didn t even ask where Rei was going off to. Rei couldn t even be sure herself until she saw Shinji s apartment building.

She walked into the apartment building and down the hall. She passed only one person, a woman dressed all in black. Rei hardly paid her attention as she knocked on the door. The woman stopped at a door and pulled out a key, fumbling with it.

Shinji opened his door. Oh! he exclaimed in surprise. Ayanami!

Shinji-kun, she said. The woman down the hall was still struggling with the key in the lock. Rei vaguely wondered why she was having so much trouble. Is it alright if I visit awhile?

Er, of course Shinji said. It s a bit short notice, but I m not doing anything anyways. He smiled and moved aside so she could enter.

Thank you, she said. She looked around as she entered. The hall was not especially impressive, containing nothing but a few simple decorations and Shinji s jacket, holding some active electronic in its pocket (she could see a faint glow). Shinji paid it no mind. Down the hall, the living room was visible. Rei couldn t help but smile a little when she saw the pictures on the wall of the three Ikari s. A proper family. The sort of thing she didn t really have.

She was just about to comment when they heard a crash outside. Shinji rushed to the window, Rei a bit behind him. Nothing.

Shinji frowned. Weird, he remarked. I guess some kids threw something against a wall nearby.

Rei nodded in agreement. So she said. Those are your parents?

Shinji nodded. Yeah I think they work for the same company your parents do. They re busy tonight, he added. I suppose yours are too?

They generally are.

Both of them? Shinji asked in surprise. Usually Dad is around to hang out and stuff, even if Mom is busy.

Rei shrugged. I m used to it, she said. She sat on the sofa awkwardly. So um what do we do now? she asked.

I guess we hang out, Shinji answered. Wanna play a game?

Rei nodded. That sounds nice.

Shinji went to one of several bookshelves in the room and pulled a board down from it, placing it gingerly in the center of the floor. On the board was a bag, whose contents Shinji poured out onto the floor. Black and white game pieces were soon in a pile, and Shinji began separating them by color. Rei helped.

What game is this? Rei asked.

Shinji seemed amazed Rei didn t know. It s Go. You ll place a black stone down, then I ll place a white stone down, and we ll keep doing that in a way that s designed to surround the other s pieces.

Uh Rei couldn t quite see what Shinji meant.

Well, if there was a white stone here He placed one at a random spot on the board. and then you had black stones to its left, right, above and below it, I d have to take my black stone off the board. We play until there aren t any more places to put stones.

I see, Rei said. What a strange game Who taught it she trailed off. Shinji was looking out towards the hallway, like he expected someone to knock at the door. Er Shinji?

He turned back to her. What? Sorry

Who taught you how to play? Rei repeated.

Shinji grinned. Dad did, when I was young and he didn t work so much. Now though he frowned a little. We don t play so much.

Rei couldn t think of anything to say, so she instead placed a black stone on the board. Shinji looked down at the board for a moment, and then placed a white stone down. The game began.

Rei at first thought that Shinji was going a little too easy on her, but then she realized he kept making bad plays because he spent all of his time staring over at the hallway. After a game of this, Rei became quite frustrated and wondered if she should leave.

Soon, the artificial lights were the only thing still illuminating the world beyond Shinji s window. Perhaps I should go back, Rei said. It was most pleasant, she lied, but we have school tomorrow. She rose up. And school Saturday morning Perhaps that afternoon ?

Shinji grinned. Yeah. We can hang out again, he said.

Very well. Goodbye, Shinji-kun, she said, walking through the hall past the decorations and the jacket and stepping out the front door. The hall beyond was poorly lit, as was the area close the apartment building. Rei shuddered slightly. This place seemed much creepier at night, and she was quite relieved to get to the streetlights by the road. From there, she began her walk home.

At night, the city was mostly deserted. Rei was vaguely aware of someone behind her, and so she hurried, but she wasn t concerned. Probably just another nighttime pedestrian.

When she felt a rush of air and a sudden pressure on her neck, she realized she was wrong. Then the attacker lifted her off the ground with just one arm! His fingers felt so brittle and thin Rei was amazed he was strong enough. Or, she would have been, had she not been panicking. The attacker spun her around adeptly.

She looked down at him. He seemed to be one of the homeless; thin and empty, his ribs visible despite the clothing he wore.

Ayanami Rei, he whispered. An honor to meet you.

H- how do you know my name? she rasped out. He didn t seem to actively strangling her, but breathing seemed harder than usual.

His neck tilted. He leaned in and sniffed a little. Rei shuddered. She wondered what had possessed her to go wandering alone. She knew what would happen next.

Put her down!

The man turned. Rei couldn t quite see her savior, but she knew who it was. Shinji!

And then Shinji stepped into her field of view. He was wearing the jacket she d seen hung up in the hall, but the glowing object wasn t in his pocket anymore, it rested in Shinji s hands. The glowing object was a simple pistol, shining in the moonlight, similar in design to a Jericho, although it bore no identifying marks. Rei wondered for a brief moment where he d gotten it from, and how it could glow.

The attacker scoffed. That s all? he asked. A kid with a gun?

He let go of Rei. She fell to the ground in a heap. She rose quickly, of course, but she felt too shocked to do anything but watch.

And, to her horror, Shinji fired the gun. The man simply wasn t where he d been a moment ago. He was now a few meters away. Impossible. He hadn t had time to move

The man charged eagerly. Rei could see the bloodlust in his eyes. She felt too dizzy to even wonder why he d be so eager to attack two children.

Shinji s eyes were wide with terror and he fired quickly. This time, the bullets from the gun connected, but only to the man s leg. The attacker stumbled horribly and nearly fell over, but he regained his balance.

Shinji had already retreated to a safe distance. Both had forgotten about Rei in their life and death struggle. Rei wished she could do something, but She knew that without a weapon of her own, she d only get in the way of Shinji s bullets, or become a hostage, or worse.

How frustrating to feel so useless.

Shinji continued to fire his gun, but most of his bullets missed or hit the man in such a way that it hardly could be damaging. The man, meanwhile, wasn t having luck getting any closer to Shinji. A stalemate. Rei wondered what would happen when Shinji ran out of bullets, but he never did.

But then, between the bullets and the charges and the expletives and Shinji s frantic yells, the battle suddenly, and horrifically, shifted. The man jumped into the air, seeming to defy gravity with how long he stayed in the air, and then came down on Shinji hard. The gun was knocked away, Rei couldn t see where.

And the attacker grabbed Shinji, holding him up like he d held Rei up, but it was clear he was strangling Shinji. The boy struggled desperately, but he soon passed out, and the man tossed him aside, before turning back to Rei. 


End file.
